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Lawyer Lineup Set For Gay Marriage Cases

Publication Date:

March 18, 2013

Source:

The National Law Journal

Author:

Tony Mauro

Professor Michael McConnell is referenced in this National Law Journal article by Tony Mauro for his role in Horne et al v. U.S. Department of Agriculture. McConnell will be arguing on behalf of raisin handler Marvin Horne.

It will be déjà vu all over again March 27, when solicitor general Donald Verrilli Jr. squares off against former SG Paul Clement at the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage — exactly one year after they opposed each other in the Affordable Care Act cases. What hot-button issue will they be back for next March 27?

The two-week argument cycle beginning Monday will be dominated by same-sex marriage issues in Hollingsworth v. Perry (the Proposition 8 case) on March 26, and U.S. v. Windsor (the Defense of Marriage Act case) on the 27th. A number of other cases, including some that might bring back bad memories for the justices, are also on deck.

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Stanford Law School professor Michael McConnell, a former federal appeal judge and expert on agricultural marketing programs, will argue on behalf of raisin handler Marvin Horne. He almost argued a 1996 case involving a marketing program for California tree fruit, Glickman v. Wileman Brothers. Some growers had hired him to appear before the high court, but Thomas Campagne, who had handled the cases in earlier stages, refused to give up the argument. The court clerk tossed a coin and Campagne won, ultimately giving a bombastic presentation that left justices sputtering in disbelief. Some clients later sued Campagne for the unusual tort of failure to refer the argument to a specialist, but it did not succeed.